Electric contact device.



A. A. KENT.

ELECTRIC CONTACT DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.26. 1905.

1,152,642. PatentedSept. 7, 1915.

lill" COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH to., WASHINGTON. D. c.

Unirse sra'rns raannrlorrioa.

ARTHUR ATWATER KENT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC CONTACT DEVICE.

Application filed December 26, 1905-.

To all whom t may concer-a Be it known that I, ARTHUR ATWATER KENT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Electric Contact Device, of which the following is a specification.v

My invention relates to electric contact devices or mechanical vibrators and particularly to such devices as are adapted `to be used with the sparking 'circuits of internal combustion engines.

The object of my invention is to provide a contact device, or mechanical vibrator, especially adapted for the sparking circuit of an internal combustion engine, in which the l length of time that the circuit is closed is constant, although the speed of the engine may vary.

A further object of my invention is to dispense with the magnetic vibrator ordinarily employed in a sparking circuit.

A further object of my invention is to render the operation of thevcontact device positive and certain and to insure the closure and the instantaneous breaking again of the circuit at the proper point in the revolution of the shaft of the engine.

A further ob] ect of my invention is to prevent the closure of the circuit at any other than the predetermined time for which the device is adjusted.

A further object of my invention is to prevent the resilient or yielding contact army from vibrating or moving in such a manner as to accidentally engage the stationary contact with which it is adapted to cooperate.

A further object of my invention is to construct a contact devicein which the setting and releasing of the movable member is controlled by a `positively driven actuating mechanism, but in which the returning'of the said member is effected by a means independent of said actuating mechanism, toreturn the same to its 'normal position in a constant interval of time.

` Further objects of my invention are to make a device of the character above set forth which is easily assembled, and taken apart, so that a worn or broken part may be I readily removed and replaced or adjusted without disturbing the other parts of the device, and to construct the device as simply and cheaply .as is 7consistent with the best results. y

It further consists of other novel features Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

Serial No. 293,237.

represents a section on line aff-m Fig. 2.

Fig. t represents a side elevation of the shaft in detached position. Fig. 5 repre'- sents a side elevation of another embodiment of my invention.

Similar numerals of reference Vindicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the vibrator comprising the body 2 having the boss or bearings 3 extending yfrom one side thereof and the bearings t and 5 from the other side thereof, said bearings having the portion 6 of the shaft 7 rotatably mounted therein, the outer portion or extremity 8 having thereon four notches resembling the notches on a ratchet, said notches, when the parts are assembled, being located in the cut away portion 10 between the bearings Vl and 5, it being assumed, in the present instance,

that four cylinders are used. The shaft 7 V.

hasan adjustable collar .7 thereon.

11 designates the terminal of the lifter or actuating member 12, the inner end of the latter being ,locatedV in the recess 13 and prising a support or a head 18 preferably of polygonal contour, as square in the present instance, is loosely mounted on the pinr19, so as'to freely rock on the latter, said head inthe present instance having the strip of steel or other material 20, secured thereto,

preferably as indicated in Fig. V3, said strip being deflected upwardly to form themember 21 which constitutes a stop against which the yielding or resilient arm or membei` 22 normally presses. Saidmember 22 is provided with a platinum contact 28 whichY is adapted to coact with the stationary contact 24, carried bythe screw25, any improper movement of the parts being prevented by the pin 26. The screw 25 is serabutting against the stop 14, the outer end Y cured, whenin the desired positiomby tightening the screw 27. By this construction the resilient arm`2 2 ,ispla,ced underitension ano. prevented from vibrating or trembling, any accidental closing of the circuit through the contact points 23 and 24 is avoided, and a rapid; make. and break of the circuit is effected.

Referring once more to the strip 20, it will, be seen, that the latter is deflected laterally to form the member 28, which has the downwardly deflected terminal' 29, which is helgd inl proper position on the pin 30 by reason, ofthe4 spring 3l, the free end of the latter resting on the screw 32, which can be adjusted so as to adjust said` spring 3l, so as to. normally keep 'the points 23 and 24 apart7 In the construction seen in Fig. 3, I have shown, the strip 20.^secured1in position by the screws 33 and 34' and' I also utilize the latter to hold the en d of the spring 31 in place, although it isevident that various other devices. may be employed' for holding these parts in assembled position. In the presentA instance, 1 secure the foot of the arm 22A in position by a screw 35, although itis evident that other devices may be employed,l and' the elbow lever composed of the parts28 2ll and their adjuncts may be formedf in other ways without departing from the spirit of' my invention,

36 designates a. spring guard adapted to have its free endfrsnappedA over the pin 19, so as to hold the head or movable contact support --118- and its adjuncts in posi,- tion. This provides a means whereby the whole movable circuit closing member, comprising the support or head 18-, the spring SL-,the .yielding or resilient contactl member or arml-2`2v, stop arm 21 andmember -28-, may be bodily removed without disturbing the 'other parts of' the mechanism, Any one off'thesaid parts may be removedand readily replaced or adjusted after-l the spring guard 4--23- has been swuno on its pivot. laterally and the head, to which the saidj parts are secured,has been drawn off the pivot pin 1Q- It will be evident` that the arm 37, which carriesthe screws 25 and` 27 can be readily removed when desired:

In Fig. 5j, I have shown a slightly different' manner ofA making the. contacts wherein I employ the head, mounted on the pin 19 as before, but omit the contact arm 22 and extend' themember 2S upwardly to form the armLSBhaving'thereon the contact point 39, adapted to coact with` the point 40 carried on the` resilient arm 4l, secured*y in position bythe screw 42j, the extent ofV movement of said:v arm. 41@ being adjnstedj bythe screw 4S. As allk the other 'parts employed inl Fig. 5 are thevsame as those already described, any furtherdescri tion isunnecessary.4

Theoperation isas follows :,-The space between the contacts can be adjusted by proper manipulation of the screw 25, the spring 3l normally keeping the contact points apart. The shaft 7 normally revolves in` the direction of the arrow seen in Fig. 3 and as it revolves, assuming the parts to be in the position seen in Fig. 3, it carries forward the terminal 1l of the lifter l2, this forward' movement of said lifter causing a tension upon the spring l5. There is nor connection made at thecontacts while the lifter is going forward but when it is released from the ratchet S, by reason of the engagement ofl the lifter withy the seat 5, the tension ofthe. spring L5 bringsit back to its original position. As the lifter starts in its backward path, it slides` upwardly over the top of the ratchet teeth andv raises the terminal 29, which causes a contact at 23 and 24:, which closes the primary circuit and'magnetif/.es the iron core in the coil (not shown). As the head, -18h turns on the pin l9*,tl1e yielding or resilient arm or member --22` and the stop-2l against which said arm normally presses, are turned in the direction of the stationary Contact M24- The engagement of the contacts prevents any further turning of the resilient arm 22 but the stop -21- moves on and' away from the said arm -2 2-, and 9 puts the same arm undera still greater tension, which in conjunction withy the spring -81- effects an instantaneous separation of the contact points the moment the lifter -l2- passes from under the terminal 29. On the return movement the contacts *23h andV 2% remain in engagement untilV the upper endY of the stop. arm 2l-f rengages the resilientv arm4 -22,-, when they move together-to their original position. The resilient arm -22 thus firmly engages the stationary Contact -2l,- under tension, is allowed tofdwellthene and is then quickly removedk therefrom, effecting` a very rapid make and breakofjthe circuit, insuring a.. firm andv positive, closure long enoughto insure alarge and hot spark when the circuit is broken, Before the terminal l1- reaches its releasedV position, it allows the terminal 29 to drop, thus breaking the contact, which discharges the magnetism of the core ofthecoil (not shown) and; produces a sparkat the plug.y TWhen the next notch on the shaft comes aroundy this operation is repeated making but one spark for every explosion in the engine.

From the above it will be plain that the spring l5 of the lifter arm l2 is brought to tension by the ratchet on the shaft 8, and that. on itsvreturn movement the lifter arm 12 movesin a differentpath from that in which it was advanced,i In returning, and before it reaches itsoriginal position, the said" lifter arm 12 is positively forced laterally or transversely into engagement with teeth of theratchet over which it is drawnv gine may be turning very slowly and thethe movable armY 28, actuating the resilient contact arm 22, .by the outer 'surface of the by the Aspring 15. p

It will be apparent that although the enlease of this spring. It will thus be readily .apparent to those skilled in the art that the make and break of the contact is very rapidly accomplished and that the spark will always be of a constant size immaterial ofy the speed of the engine and I have foundin practicev that this ,contact device may be ac-V tuated ata speed much greater than an engine ever attains, since the lifter 12, although advanced at variable speeds dependent upon the speed of the rotating cam 8 driven from ment in a constant and substantially in- It will furtherV the engine, is always returned 'under the quick `influence of the spring 15 so that ittraverses that portion of its path of movestantaneous period of time. be apparent that in lorder to ymake a spark the lifter arm must be carried forward andv releasedk and when the engine .is reversed this lifter arm is not carried forward but is simply raised and does not come in contact or engage with the terminal 29 of the member 28 so that when the engine is reversed orv running backward no spark will be gen' be apparent that while in the present instance'four sparks are made for onerevolution of the shaft, the number of sparks per revolution will depend entirely upon the number of notches 9 on the driven member 1 S. When a four cycle engine is employed this driven shaft 8 would run at half the speed so consequently only one spark would be produced for each explosion.

' VIt will Abei-evident that various. changesd maybemade by those skilled in the art,VV

which maycome within the scope of my invention and Ido not therefore desire to be limited in every instance to .thel exact construction herein shown and described..

It will be understood that thearm 37 is insulated from the body 2 Vby the insulation 44C, as will be understood from Fig. 2 and in practiceI- provide, upon theV back ofssaid body, the spring 45, seenk in full lines in Fig; 2 andin` dotted-.lines in Fig. 3;'and I also inpractice,attachto the rear of the arl-m13?, theyspring 16, the relative position` of said spring being apparent from Figs.

2 and 3. The function of the springs 45 and 46 is as follows to make-connection between' the body 2 and. arm 37 to the. sliding contacts, not shown, which are connected with the rest of the system. I have purposely omitted to show, in detail, all of these various connections as the manner of attaching or securing the device which forms my Vinvention in position, will be familiar to those skilled in the art. parent that my present invention is adapted for use by increasing the size and power of the 'parts for operating points inside of an engine lfor a low tension make and break system. Y

It will be apparent from the foregoing that my invention is adapted for use in the.

jump spark, high tension system and it will be obvious that the principal instrumentalities ofwhich my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and in the accompanying drawings I have shown one embodiment thereof which I have found inv ters Patent, is :h

It will also be ap- 1. In a sparking device a support, a re--.

silient member carried thereby, kmeans for preventing the free oscillation of said resilientmember independently of said support, Van actuatingl member adapted to move said support, a spring for maintaining said actuating 'member in normal position, and means for moving said actuating member against the tension of said spring.

2. In a contact device,a contact point sup.V port, an actuating member for operating the same, means for advancing and releasing said actuating member and for eiecting the return of said actuating-member in a different path from that in which it was advanced, said support being operated by said actuating member during its return movement, a resilient member carried by said support, a contact carried by said resilient member, means to prevent any movement of said resilient member independent of said support, a contact carried by said resilient with said first mentioned contact to make and break the circuit.

In a contact device, a driven member, anactuating member operated thereby, a tension device `for said actuatingmember, means for advancing and releasing said member, means for effecting the return of y said actuating member in a different path,-

from that in which it was advanced, a conrigid stop against which said resilient contact normally presses.

4L. In a `contact device, a driven A'member, an actuating `member advanced thereby, a stop forsaid actuating member, a ltension device for normally maintaining said actuating `member against said stop, means for effecting the return of said'aetuating menr ber in a different path :from that in which it was advanced, a pivoted support adapted to be oscillated by said actuating member on the return movement of the latter, a resilient contact member carried by said pivoted support, and a stationary contact coperating with said resilient contact member `to make and break the circuit.

In a contact device an actuatingmember, means for advancing and releasing said member, means for effecting the return of said member, a movable support moved by said actuating member during its return movement, a resilient member carried by' said support, a contact carried by said resilient member, and a stationary contact coacting with said first mentioned contact to make and break the circuit.

6. In a contact device a stationary contact point, a movable contact point, a yielding member on which said movable contact point is mounted, and a stop engaging said member on that side of said member adjacent the other contact point and against which said member normally presses under tension and by which said member is kept under tension when said contacts are out of engagement, an actuating shaft, a reciprocatory member for operating said movable contact point, said reciprocatory member being advanced by said shaft at a speed dependent upon the speed of said shaftand means to return said reciprocatory member at fixed rate of speed independent of the speed of said shaft.

7. In a contact device a rotatable shaft,'an actuating member, means to impart from said shaft to said member one movement the rate of which is dependent upon and substantially proportional to the speed of said shaft, means to give said member a second movement the rate of which is substantially uniform and is independent of the speed at Which said shaft mayA be moving, a movable support, a resilient member carried by said support, a contact point mounted on said resilient member, aV contact point cooperating with said movable contact point, means mounted on said support and engaged by saidresilient member Whensaid contact points are out of engagement with each other to preventA said resilient member from trembling.

8. In a contact device a stationary contact point, a movable contact point, a support therefor, means for moving said support lback and forth to intermittently bring said contact points into operative engagement With Veach other, said support comprising tension means tending to move said movable contact point toward said stationary contact point, and a stop, carried by said support,vto prevent a movement of said movable contact point tovvard said stationary contact -point'beyond a predetermined position relative to said support, against Which said movable contact point substantially rests when said contact points are out of engagement with each other, and away from which said movable contactfpoint is forced when said points are in engagement with each other.

9. In a contact device a movable contact support, a yielding member carried thereby, a movable contact point carried by said member, a stationary contact point, rotatable means to operate said support, means to cause said movable contact point to engage said stationary contact point for a uniform lengthof time irrespective of the speed at which said rotatable means is moved and a stop carried by said support against which said member normally presses to limit the movement of said member relative to said support toward said stationary contact point.

l0. In a contact device a relatively fixed contact point, a movable contact point, a resilient arm upon Which one of said points is mounted, said arm being under tension tending to move the contact point carried thereby-toward said other contact point, and a rigid stop against which said resilient arm presses and from Which said resilient arm is forced away in oppositionfto the tension of said arm when said contact points are in engagement With each other.

11. In a contact device, a pair of contact points, a support, a resilient member carried thereby and by which one of said contact points is carried, means to oscillate said support and means carried by said support to hold said resilient member under tension Whenever said contact points are separated.

l2. In a contact device,'a stationary contact point, a movable support, a resilient arm carried thereby, rotatable means to oscillate said support to bring said arm intermittently into operative engagement With said stationary contact point for a constant length of time irrespective of the speed of said rotatable means, and a stop carried by said support against which said arm normally presses and from which it is forced by its engagement With said stationary contact. 13. In a contact device a pair of contact points, a yielding member vcarrying one of said points, said member being under a tension tending to move it toward the other of said points, a stop againstwhich said member presses Vvvheny said'conta'ct points are out ofengagement'and Afrom Whichsaid member i is pressed bythe engagement ot said points and means for moving one of said points into and out of engagement With the other of said points. a

14. In a contact device a reciproca-tory member, means to reciprocate said member Substantially longitudinally, means to cause one end of said member to traverse a substantially looped path, and to cause said end to traverse a predetermined portion of its said looped path yat a substantially uniform rate of speed irrespective of the speed atr Which it traverses other portions of its path and a circuit closing member actuated by saidreciprocatory memberv when said reciprocatory member is traversing that portion of its said looped path at said uniformV rate of speed.

15. In a contact device a reciprocatory member, means to reciprocate said member substantially longitudinally, means to cause one end of said member to traverse asubvstantially looped path, fa circuit closing member extending into lsaid path and adapted to engage said end, and means to cause said end to traverse that portion of its path ad]acent said circuit closing member substantially instantaneously irrespective of the speed at Whichit traverses the other portions of its path.

16. In a contact device a reciprocatory `member', means to reciprocate said member substantially longitudinally, and a vcircuit closing member adapted to be operated by said reciprocatory member at apredetermined point in the path of said reciprocatory member and means to cause said reciprocatory member to traverse that portion' of its path in which it operates said circuit closing member at a substantially instantaneous and constant speed irrespective of the speed at Which reciprocatory member traverses the other portions of its path. A

17. In a contact device an actuating member mounted to oscillate about one end andl i arm on Which said last mentioned contact Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of vPatents, Y

pointis carried, a stop on said circuit closing member against Which said arm normally presses, means to move said member to cause said points to alternately engage and separate, and a stud upon which said member is mounted and from which it can be bodily Withdrawn Without disturbing the other'` tact point, a movable circuit closing member,

a Contact point carried thereby, a resilient arm on Which said last mentioned contact point is carried, a stop on said circuit closing member'against Which said arm normally presses, means to oscillate said member to cause said points to alternately engage and separate, and a support upon Which said member is mounted and from Which'it can be bodily Withdrawn Without disturbing the other parts of said device.

20. In a contact device, a stationary contact point, a movable circuitclosing member carrying a contact point, means to oscillate said member` to cause said points to alternately engage and separate, a stud on which said member is pivoted, and from which it can be laterally Withdrawn Without disturbing the other parts of said device, and a spring to yeldingly retain said member on said stud.

21. In a contact device a pair of contact tact point, a movable circuit closing member,

a' Contact point carried thereby, a resilient arm on which said last mentioned contact point is carried, and a stop mounted on said circuit closing member and against Which said arm normally presses under tension tending to move the contact point` on said resilient arm toward said stationary contact4 point.

23. In a contact device a lifter having on fand a yielding means for holding said hook in operative position With respect to said ratchet and for holding said other end of said lifter onsaid seat and tending to hold said lifter in its rearmost position on said seat. Y

ARTHUR VArIVVrYIER KENT.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. WIEDERSHEIM, II. S. FAmBANKs.

Washington, D. C. 

